About — 17 000

Every Individual Counts

Imagine a work of art created not by one artist, but by thousands of people across the world.

Every Individual Counts is a global collaborative art movement celebrating the simple truth that every human being matters. Each volunteer contributes a single, unique mark—a brushstroke, a fingerprint, a stitch, a tile, or another small element. Alone, each contribution may seem modest. Together, they become something extraordinary: a powerful visual reminder that humanity is strongest when every individual is seen, valued, and included.

The artwork can be recreated in cities, schools, communities, and public spaces around the globe, with each version reflecting the people who made it while sharing the same universal message:

Every Individual Counts.

This is more than an art project. It is an invitation to participate, to connect across cultures, and to leave a visible mark in a worldwide symbol of empathy, compassion and respect.

A registry that grows beyond this site

Each piece is unique, with its own number and its own story.

Choose your piece, dedicate it to one of our role models, support a charity of your choice, or wear a piece on a hoodie or T-shirt.

Your piece. Your number. Your story.

The history of the artwork

From a number in the news to a work of art

In public debates on migration, living people are often reduced to anonymous numbers. One number that deeply affected the artist collective Forma was 17,000 — a figure reported in 2017 in the media as the estimated number of people who would be deported from Sweden to Afghanistan.

Forma wanted to understand what 17,000 really means and to show that it is not an abstract volume. The artwork consists of 17,000 unique small pieces, each mounted in a wooden frame. Together they make the quantity 17,000 visible — but more importantly, they show that it is not just a number. Behind every single unit there is a personality, a story, a work of art.

Forma's working method is collective creation and the belief in the power of diversity. In 17 000 this is taken to the extreme: more than 2,500 people have contributed to producing the installation.

Liljevalchs, 2019

The work was exhibited at Liljevalchs Spring Salon in Stockholm in 2019. During the exhibition, Forma received a strong and emotional response, including a spontaneous action from around 20 organizations that came together to collect 17,000 flowers, which were placed outside Liljevalchs.

Awards

In 2019, 17 000 won the Dezeen Award for installation design. The following year, in 2020, the work received Design S — Swedish Design Awards in the crafts category. Design S is Sweden's leading and broadest design award, supported by the entire Swedish design community and organized by Svensk Form, the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design.

The association 17 000

Two friends — both Rotarians — saw the installation at Liljevalchs and were moved by its message and beauty. They felt strongly that this important work should be experienced by as many people as possible. In the autumn of 2019, the association 17 000 was founded, with the Rotary Club Stockholm–Brommaplan as co-founder and first member. The artwork was acquired in November 2019 with donations from three private individuals.

"17 000 should be in the UN Headquarters."

The idea was born: what if the association could help take 17 000 across the Atlantic and inspire even more people to work together?

Rotary is sometimes called the world's largest university and played a role in the founding of the United Nations after the Second World War. Today, 1.4 million Rotarians meet every week in more than 46,000 clubs around the world to listen to talks, learn new things, and contribute to the common good.